Peta Murgatroyd, 35, expressed her despair at the tragic situation occurring in Ukraine. “This is continually breaking my heart,” she said on her Instagram Stories March 16, according to People. The Dancing with the Stars pro went on, “I’m struggling to get through some days. Sometimes I have great days, other days I have terrible days because I just can’t get this out of my head. I’ve walked those streets, I’ve been there. It is such a beautiful country. And the children that are dying right now.”
Peta’s husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy, 42, recently returned to the U.S. after documenting the atrocities happening in his native country at the hands of Russia. In the emotional video, Peta insisted that although Maks is “home for now,” they are “continually doing stuff to try to help” and are “continually thinking about what’s going on there every single day. Please be aware of that.”
Peta also shared images and videos from the Ukraine crisis to her Instagram. The footage showed innocent Ukrainians being killed under the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin. She called the European conflict “a catastrophe,” and asked her fans to “please” donate towards pro-Ukraine organizations.
Peta continuously asked for prayers while Maks was in Ukraine at the time of Russia’s invasion on February 24. He chronicled his experience at witnessing the devastating crisis for his social media followers. “There’s ALWAYS another way! WAR is NEVER an answer!” he captioned one of his first posts. Maks’ initial escape attempt resulted in his arrest, but luckily, he managed to flee Ukraine on a train to Poland.
Maks safely returned to the U.S. on March 2. He reunited with Peta at the airport in Los Angeles, where they shared a heartwarming embrace. In an interview with Good Morning America, Maks admitted that he feels “guilty” for leaving Ukraine. “I feel bad. I feel ashamed. I feel upset,” he said.